Video Game of the week

Mirror’s Edge

Mirror’s Edge is a very fun action/puzzle (thats really the best way i can think to describe its genre) game.

(Note: most of the following comes from wikipedia, its much better then I could have written)

/lazy

Mirror’s Edge takes place in an unnamed city where a totalitarian regime monitors its citizens through invasive surveillance, tracking all forms of electronic communication in order to reduce crime and quell any challenge to its power. An upcoming mayoral election seeks to retain Mayor Callaghan in power to keep the government’s control on the city, though a new favoured candidate Robert Pope promises to bring change. The Eurasian protagonist, Faith Connors, is a “Runner”, a person trained in parkour, to stay out of sight and to use rooftops and other means to help deliver physical messages between revolutionary groups within the city. Faith along with another Runner, Celeste, were both trained by Merc who also provides radio support for the two.

Faith is a runner and the main character in Mirror's Edge. The game's logo imitates the shape of the design around her right eye.

Faith receives a call for help from her sister Kate, a police officer, at the offices of Pope, and finds that Pope has been murdered, clutching a piece of paper with the name “Icarus” on it.

Mirror’s Edge aims to “convey the strain and physical contact with the environment”, according to senior producer Owen O’Brien, and to instill a freedom of movement not yet seen in the first-person genre. This is achieved not only with the exercise of parkour, but also by tying camera movement more closely with character movement, such that the rate at which the camera bobs up and down increases as Faith builds up speed while running and the camera spins when she rolls.

Also, the arms, legs, and even torso at times are prominent and their visibility is used to convey movement and momentum, such that Faith’s arms pump and the length of her steps increase with her gait, and her legs cycle and arms flail during long jumps.

Mirror's Edge features a realistic first-person view and hand-to-hand combat.

With such a heavy focus on movement, it is imperative to maintain momentum, which is done by a fluid flow of actions, creating a chain of moves. Failing to string these moves together results in a loss of momentum, which can mean that Faith falls off or short of an object if a certain level of momentum is required to traverse it. Controls are simplified by being context-sensitive; the “up” button will cause Faith to traverse an obstacle by passing over it—for example, by jumping, vaulting, climbing, or grabbing set pieces like zip lines—while the “down” button will cause her to perform other maneuvers like slides or rolls, or simply crouch. In order to assist the player in creating these chains of moves, the game employs a system called “Runner Vision”, which derives its name from its purpose: to depict the environment the way a runner would see it, instantly recognizing escape routes. It is a highlighting system that emphasises environmental pieces useful for progression—like pipes, ramps, and enterable doors—with the colour red as Faith approaches, though it does not always indicate the best route. Further along in the game, the number of these visual hints is reduced to only indicate the end goal, though the player can opt to turn off this hint system entirely.It will also be used to create puzzles in which the player must figure out how to combine the highlighted set pieces into a chain of moves in order to reach the target.Another means of assistance to the player is a system called “Reaction Time”, which is a form of bullet time that allows the player time to plan where to go next without losing momentum, as well as making the timing of jumps and disarms easier.

Although the player character can hold weapons, O’Brien stressed that “this is an action adventure. We’re not positioning this as a shooter – the focus isn’t on the gun, it’s on the person.” Gameplay in Mirror’s Edge will focus on finding the best route through the game’s environments while combat takes a secondary role. In fact, on the E3 ‘Gameplay Walkthrough’ O’Brien says that going through the game without shooting a single enemy unlocks an achievement, “Test of Faith”Consequently, guns may be obtained by disarming an enemy, but when the magazine is empty, it will need to be discarded. Additionally, carrying a weapon slows Faith down and the heavier the gun, the more it hinders her movement, which introduces an element of strategy in determining when to trade agility for short-term firepower.

To increase the longevity of the game, there are 3 packages (bags) hidden in each level for the player to find to unlock extras, as well as a time attack mode where the player will try to complete small portions of a level as fast as possible. Online leaderboards as well as red “ghost runners” allow the player see their fastest routes or the routes of other people on the leaderboard.